Are there really people out there who are intimately aware of their insurance? Aside from those who work in the industry, I mean?

I think I’d consider myself vaguely aware of my insurance. I know who my providers are. I know my health copay. I know when my premiums are due. I have a pretty good idea of what we’ll get if any of our three cars are in a smashup, and I have a pretty good idea of how much nursing home I can do before I have to sit in front of an open window. I don’t know the payouts on my home insurance, but I know where to find them. I don’t know what the loopholes are. I’m pretty sure flooding is not covered, but I don’t know if that includes “the washing machine exploded and we need new drywall.”

I have a couple friends who have worked in insurance, and it sounds to me like the only thing worse than dealing with insurance from the outside is having to deal with it as your job. I am told it’s like most customer service things—people run the gamut from “here’s what I need, here’s all my info, spit spot, get it done,” to “What state are you in, ma’am?” “Cleveland.” And the claims can be messy. I heard a good one about a woman who ran herself over with her own car. I feel like I would be too embarrassed to admit that even to get money, but I guess she had to because she needed hospitalization—so maybe this isn’t as funny as it might be otherwise … but still. Watch what you’re doing, folks, or you’ll end up in my blog!

So I guess this day is for people like me to go and find out more about what they’re in store for if the worst occurs.

I don’t think I’ll be reporting back on this. (I suspect if I had to, the report would be that I suck at follow-through and didn’t do it.) But I encourage you all to go check your catastrophe plans!